New York Times Saberpolling guru Nate Silver says “it’s a bad sign for Mr. Romney that Mr. Ryan has produced a below-average bounce so far.” The Romney-Ryan boosters aren’t having it; they’re feeling confident — cocky, even.
Sadly, I can’t do numbers like Silver. What I can do is deja vu:
“Palin bounce has Democrats off balance” — Los Angeles Times, Sept. 10, 2008
“With Palin at His Side, McCain Finds Energized Crowds” — New York Times, Sept. 10, 2008. (The lede: “What a difference a running mate makes.”)
“McCain-Palin Campaign ‘Chemistry’ Energizes Republican Crowds” — Bloomberg, Sept. 9, 2008
“Panic Time for Obama …” — Scared Monkeys, Sept. 7, 2008
“As the remarkable two-week stretch of back-to-back presidential nomination conventions ends, a weekend USA Today/Gallup Poll finds that the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket has more than matched the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket’s convention bounce of last week with a ‘rebound’ bounce, and in the immediate aftermath of the GOP convention McCain and Palin now have a slight edge over their opponents.” — Gallup, Sept. 8, 2008.
“Sarah ‘Barracuda’ Palin has given McCain the sort of bounce Biden couldn’t. Obama went from a 48/40 lead before the RNC convention to no lead at all. … It’s amazing what an actual conservative can do for a Presidential ticket.” — SayAnythingBlog.com, Sept. 5, 2008.
“Still bouncing: New Gallup gives McCain five-point lead over Obama” — Hot Air, Sept. 8, 2008
You get the idea. Romney-ites will insist that Paul Ryan won’t land on his face like Palin did. I agree. They’ll point out, furthermore, that there won’t be a dramatic Lehman Bros./AIG meltdown this year — or that if there is one, it would redound to the benefit of the opposition party. Also true. But Ryan’s liabilities are real — and I suspect the GOP’s own version of “Mediscare” this week will only temporarily obscure that fact.
Mike Ehling 
John McCain was so tone deaf on the economic meltdown of 2008 – still so very much with us today and due to worsen after the election, regardless of the winners – that he couldn’t remember whether he had 11 or 13 homes, thinking also everything was as economically insulated for the rest of us as it is for him.
Romney’s not any better at identifying with the rest of us and putatively worse due to his Bain Capital depredations of eviscerating companies for profit, but he can point to no improvement under Obama, too.
Overall. a Randian take on economy by Ryan, will reinforce the perception that the Wall Street winners of the 16 trillion undisclosed bailout, will be even more showered with benefits, rewarded due to the triumph of their meritocracy.
Or is that due rather to the success of their billion dollar lobbying efforts and Super PAC donations to buy government?